An anonymous source has told Engadget that Microsoft’s ARM tablet, the Surface RT, will cost just $199 when it goes on sale on October 26th.

Cue much incredulity from the rest of the Internet. $199 would be cheap for a 10” tablet with 32GB flash storage even if it were some plastic horror. Add in Surface’s VaporMg finish, tight building tolerances, and Touch Cover keyboards, and the bill of materials is sure to be more than $199, and as such, Microsoft would be taking a loss on every unit sold.

Still, Microsoft could afford to sell Surface RT for $199. There are reasons why it might want to do so, and there are even realistic ways in which it could make up for that loss. But the negative effects of such a price plan would be enormous.

This has been going around the last day or two, rumours of the Surface RT being sold for $199 by Microsoft…

And I have to agree with Peter in this article on how that can be possible but shouldn’t be done as it can cause several problems which he touches on. It also equates to Microsoft throwing their OEM partners under a bus with this move…

Roger Stringer spends most of his time solving problems for people, and otherwise occupying himself with being a dad, cooking, speaking, learning, writing, reading, and the overall pursuit of life. He lives in Penticton, BC.